From a small regional town in the Blue Mountains to the helm of media strategy at Accenture Song, Chris Colter’s journey is a testament to the power of opportunity, mentorship, and bold thinking.
An award-winning strategist and industry leader, Chris has played a pivotal role in some of Australia’s most iconic campaigns, including Meat and Livestock Australia’s Spring Lamb, LEGO’s Star of Christmas, and Tourism Australia’s Dundee.
Chatting with B&T shares why initiatives like Cairns Hatchlings, presented by Yahoo are essential for emerging talent in the Asia-Pacific region, what qualities he’ll be looking for in the finalists as a judge, and his advice for young creatives looking to stand out in the industry.
B&T: What motivated you to join the Cairns Hatchlings jury, and what excites you most about being involved in this initiative?
Colter: Any opportunity I get to support the next generation with the opportunities leaders gave me I jump in with both feet. I love how unique the competition is and the APAC scale; this won’t be an easy competition to win.
B&T: Why do you believe programs like Cairns Hatchlings are so important for emerging talent across the Asia Pacific region?
Colter: I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today if I didn’t get the opportunity to cut-my-teeth on industry competitions like the Hatchlings. It’s extremely rare for people under 5 years experience in the industry to have full control of pulling together an end-to-end response to brief and understand how each discipline contributes and collaborates to deliver a seamless outcome. Adding the competitive element to it is like an accelerant, as it forces you to push your thinking, rapidly cram your understanding of different capabilities and seek outside support – which builds your network of advisors and sounding boards early. I can honestly say the people I bounced ideas with in my first competition, I still go to for advice today and that’s invaluable.
…and never under-estimate the power of not just getting your name out there, but your thinking!
B&T: How does the opportunity to showcase work live at the Cairns Crocodiles event add value for the finalists?
Colter: A huge part of the value of programs like this is getting your name and thinking out there, whether that’s internally within your agency or across the industry. To have your work socialised and showcased at such a major industry event (that’s only getting exponentially bigger and better) is a genuine money-can’t-buy career accelerant.
B&T: The program emphasises collaboration with charities to create real-world impact. How important do you think this aspect is in developing well-rounded industry professionals?
Colter: Whilst this is a common feature in programs like this, it’s an important one. Bluechip brands don’t need free ideas and thinking (for sure they need creativity, but they also have the means to source it) but for purpose-led charitable organisations this
B&T: What qualities and attributes will you be looking for in the finalists?
Colter: Strategic media creativity, delivered with conviction and clarity. It can’t just be creative thinking for creativity sake, it needs to clearly address the unique challenge, link to the KPIs and needs to be ownable to the organisation they’re working on. Beyond that, for me personally as a media guy, I will be looking to how well the idea was brought to life in media. There’s nothing more frustrating, as a judge or in our day-to-day, seeing an idea’s potential be diluted with a lazy distribution mindset. The best ideas get better with creative media planning that maximises all Owned, Earned, Shared, Made and Paid channels, and I will be looking for that.
B&T: In your experience, how can initiatives like Cairns Hatchlings help bridge the gap between emerging talent and top industry leaders?
Colter: I’m a big believer in the power of reverse mentoring, as I feel I learn infinitely more from emerging talent than seasoned experts. The way fresh minds think, their perspectives on the world and the future, and also their stronger connection to culture is such a vital component in helping our industry thrive. So from that perspective I would say any senior executive worth their salt would be looking to people who put themselves forward in programs like this and finding time to connect with them – whether formally via the mentoring program, or informally over a coffee.
And from an emerging talent POV, I would say the networking that comes from putting your thinking out there is more than worth the uncomfortable cost of putting your creativity and thinking out there for the world to see. It can be imposter syndrome fuel, but in actuality it’s a muscle you need to build in this industry and I can guarantee those industry leaders who you want to know your name will take notice.
B&T: What advice would you give to applicants hoping to make the most of this opportunity?
Colter: There’s the obvious, allow yourself enough time as creativity doesn’t thrive under time pressure – you need to be able to walk away from it and come back with fresh eyes to see if the love you felt for your idea wasn’t just momentary lust. But the biggest piece of advice I would give is to send it. Nobody has ever won a creativity competition with safe thinking, and you’re up against the most amazing young thinkers meaning whatever idea you think will win…dial it up to 11.
B&T: Looking ahead, what impact do you hope the Cairns Hatchlings program will have on the industry and the next generation of talent?
Colter: Some people argue there’s already too many youth-focused competitions, and it’s overwhelming to navigate and manage within people’s day-to-day. I believe it’s brilliant we’re adding new, differentiated competitions into market as it can only help rapidly build strategic and creative muscle amongst the next generation of thinkers. As technology removes alot of the manual, mundane monkey tasks most juniors have had to endure to date, the need arm our freshest thinkers with robust strategic, creative and collaborative skills is only going to accelerate.
Asia-Pacific has a reputation for setting the standard of creative thinking globally, and with programs like this that dominance will only continue. Making this market the sought after market for accelerating emerging talent’s careers.
